Letters to the Editor February 12, 2013 EU food testing [Re: Horse row no laughing matter – but NHS scandal even worse, yesterday] On the subject of Britain’s food chain, this article completely misses the point – along with most of the media. Food testing is an EU competence as part of the Single Market. All the faults, therefore, lie with the [...]
How to gain emerging market exposure February 12, 2013 IT IS a well-known story. Emerging markets are playing a more significant role in global economic growth. Recent research from PwC has highlighted that emerging market GDP will exceed that of developed markets, in terms of purchasing power parity (which adjusts for differences in exchange rates), for the first time in 2013. Since 2002, the [...]
Gold’s surprising stability deserves some closer attention February 12, 2013 AFTER reaching a peak of $1,922 per troy ounce in September 2011, gold has struggled to break new ground, with every rally since then failing to match the previous. Indeed, after the price performances of 2003 to 2011, the last 18 months have been constrained. And for quite a few reasons this is surprising. One [...]
The future looks cloudy for this Sauvignon Blanc February 12, 2013 bottle.opener@cityam.com Once the wine of choice, Cloudy Bay now has some real competition Whatever HAPPENED to Cloudy Bay? A few years ago the release of the new Cloudy Bay Sauvignon vintage was greeted with excitement amongst wine lovers. After all, this was a wine to celebrate – a taut yet ripe Sauvignon Blanc with real [...]
A cynic’s solution to not loving Valentine’s day February 12, 2013 City A.M.’s cocktail expert Call ME a cynic, but there is only one thing worse than being single on Valentine’s Day and that is being forced to sit with your significant other in a bar or restaurant, spending hand over fist in a vain attempt to quantify your affections. And every year the expectations for [...]
FTSE boosted by Barclays February 12, 2013 The FTSE 100 edged up in early trading, with Barclays topping the blue chip leader board. The bank this morning unveiled new cost-cutting measures in a restructuring that will see it axe 3,700 jobs this year. It rose more than 2.5 per cent in early deals. “Significant management changes have been implemented, a universal banking [...]
Inflation remains unchanged at 2.7 per cent in January February 12, 2013 UK inflation remained unexpectedly flat for the fourth consecutive month in January at 2.7 per cent, according to figures from the Office for National Statistics. It marks the longest period in which consumer price inflation growth has remained unchanged. The biggest upward contribution came from an 8.5 per cent rise in the price of alcohol [...]
Glencore-Xstrata base metal output dips February 12, 2013 Commodities trader Glencore and Xstrata, in the final stages of a £56bn mega-merger, this morning posted a drop in combined output across key metals including copper. The two companies’ combined production figures, released by Glencore this morning, show a nine per cent annual drop in copper output in 2012, and a one per cent fall [...]
G4S takes £70m hit for Olympic contract February 12, 2013 Security firm G4S this morning said it had agreed a £70m loss on the Olympic contract after reaching a settlement with Games organisers. G4S was rocked last year when just weeks before the London Games it admitted it could not recruit the necessary 10,400 security staff needed, and an extra 4,700 military troops had to [...]
Barclays to axe 3,700 jobs in strategic restructuring February 12, 2013 Barclays is to axe at least 3,700 jobs across the company this year, in a bid to reduce the bank’s cost base by £1.7bn in 2015 as part of a strategic restructuring announced this morning. Within the job cuts, 1,800 will come from the corporate and investment bank and 1,900 will come from within the [...]
